Deborah Kent is about to go on the ride of her life. Kent will join 130 other Canadians biking along the coast of France to honour soldiers in the Wounded Warriors Canada Battlefield Ride.

The ride, which begins on Juno Beach June 6 — the 70th anniversary of D-Day, winds through battlefields and cemeteries of the First and Second World Wars, covering 750 kilometres in eight days.

Wounded Warriors Canada is the leading Canadian supporter in helping former soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder through animal-assisted therapy programs. The purpose of the trip is to raise awareness and funds for Canadian Forces members and their families who suffer from PTSD. “I want people to know there is hope,” says Kent.

The 54-year-old has operational stress injury and is being assessed for PTSD after serving in the Canadian Forces for 32 years.

“What happens with PTSD and OSI is that you stop growing and seeing where you can be,” says Kent.

“You stop seeing that you have goals and dreams and you start shrinking. My life shrank into basically sitting on the chair. That’s not who I was.”

Kent credits her current more positive outlook on cognitive behavioural therapy treatments she attends and the support of her husband, Kris, her son and her mother. She says she knows not everyone with PTSD can heal the same way, and supporting Wounded Warriors is one way she can help others cope.

“What happens when you go away on a tour, you put your feelings away and then they go into a safe and the safe gets locked,” says Kent. “After you’ve been away for a while, somebody welds it shut. And then when you come home, you don’t know who to go to to get it open.”

Kent admits the hardest part is not being able to experience her emotions. “You know you love people, but you can’t feel it. That’s part of the frustration,” she says, close to tears. “It is one step at a time — just like the bike ride.”

The ride will take participants from Juno Beach to Vimy Ridge, making stops at battlefields including Audrieu, Rouen and Dieppe. It will be an emotional journey.

“I’m not going to bother bringing Kleenex; I’m just going to bring a soft towel. I know I’m going to cry a lot.”

To deal with the stress her emotions may cause, Kent is preparing coping strategies. “I’m going to walk away from the group and take time for myself because these are sacred moments. I want to be there not just with the living people but also with the people residing in the cemeteries and honouring them.”

Kent is also gearing up for the physical challenge and is using deep muscle training DVDsto build strength. She is also spending her time fundraising as each rider needs $6,000 to pay for flights, accommodations and to support animal-assisted PTSD therapy. Kent is selling T-shirts and has set up a donation page. She is halfway to her goal.

Kent says she feels very fortunate to give back while personally gaining so much.

“Doing this tour of the battlefields is actually something that’s been on my bucket list for a few decades. Now I get to experience the countryside in France. Hopefully, I’ll be able to pick my head up instead of just panting over the handlebars!”

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